


All To Save Them

by CaffeineAddicted



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Lots of Angst, M/M, Naruto is Uzumaki Ashura, Non-Graphic Abuse, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Rape Aftermath, Team as Family, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Trauma, Uzumaki Ashura is depressed, Uzumaki Naruto Needs a Hug, Uzumaki Naruto has ADHD, and Cuteness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-17
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-02-16 05:17:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13047267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaffeineAddicted/pseuds/CaffeineAddicted
Summary: Kurama had to save his kit. Madara had won, and was torturing Naruto for fun. Without other options, Kurama uses a jutsu to send them back in time, for when Naruto was only a student of the ninja academy.Now, Naruto must save the world and, hopefully, not freak out in the middle of the way.PTSD sucks.





	1. Uzumaki Ashura

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo..... I'm not an english native speaker, so my grammar can be bad. Its not beta readed. I'm really sorry.
> 
> I hope you guys like it, though. I like time travel a lot~

Everything was over. Madara would win. And the blond could not do anything to stop it because he had not been strong enough, smart enough. Now, it was too late. The boy fell to his knees, resting his hands on the floor, closing his eyes. _It's over._ He thought, his shoulders shaking. _Over, and I could not save anyone._

Naruto quickly learned that Madara would not kill him so soon. No, the man was more interested in punishing him for disturbing their plans so often. The Uchiha, at first, only tortured him. The man liked to see him squirm as Madara impaled his body with his sword, only to force Kurama's chakra to heal him right away. Naruto would not die there, he knew, but the injuries were done so fast, and the cures so hurried, that his body, for the first time, began to be scarred. Not even Sasuke's chidori on his chest had left scars.

Naruto lost track of time in the midst of his agony. It could have been only a few hours, or days, or weeks, hearing his companion's screams of fury in his mind, and feel the pain traverse his body. At some point, Kurama was silent, and Naruto could not feel more alone. His throat burned from the screams that had been ripped from him.

At some point, Madara got bored of that kind of torture, cuts, bumps and pluck the blonde's fingernails had become monotonous, the Uchiha had done this hundreds of times by his count. It was then that he decided that if he would break the blonde, he could do it right. Then Madara raped him.

It was so much more fun than mere wounds. Listen Naruto's desperation in their cries, and feel the blond's hatred begin to be directed to himself more and more. Madara loved that feeling.

Naruto fought with all his might to stay strong against Madara, but after losing everyone he cared for and losing all his dignity, the blonde simply broke. And he crawled into the darkest places of his mind, not caring. He was just waiting for Madara to go too far, too far for his human body to handle.

 

 

\----------------------------------

 

 **Kit,** Kurama called out, growling irritably when he was ignored. **Uzumaki Naruto, come here this instant!**

Naruto did not seem to want to, but his mind did not give him any choices, making the blond boy appear in front of the now opened seal. Naruto looked horrible, from what Kurama could see. There was blood all over the boy, turning his hair almost red. His clothes were torn, and blood red. His visible skin was covered with bruises. But the worst ... The worst was that look on his face. His eyes were dead to the world, his mind already broken with pain and agony.

 **Naruto,** Kurama began, **wake up, kit. This is no time to be depressed like this.**

 _No? Everyone is gone, everyone is gone and he ..._ Naruto choked on his words, wincing as he felt the pain in his throat. _I want to die, Ku. I want it so bad._ _But he will not let ..._

His broken voice sent shivers down Kurama's spine.

 **Kit, I have gathered chakra to be able to do a jutsu that my father taught me to times of need. It will only work once, but it may be that with it we can save everyone, and destroy Madara.** Kurama explained, worried about the human kit he had come to call friend.

 _Save everyone? How? They are already DEAD._ Naruto's throat shook with his scream, and he stared at the fox with tears in his eyes.

 **Time travel, kit. I can send you to before you're a gennin, and you can try to change everything.** The fox explained.

Naruto froze, and looked at Kurama, a spark of hope in his eyes. _What?_ He asked weakly, as if he did not risk believing what Kurama was telling him.

 **I think it's easier to show than to say.** Kurama decided, joining his paws to channel the energy. **Jikan ryokō no Jutsu! (Time travel no jutsu)**

And Naruto's world went dark.

 

\----------------------------------

 

When Naruto woke up again, the first thing he noticed was the pain. The pain was so strong it could break the mental barriers he had built to help against Madara's torture. The pain made him dizzy, he could barely hear Kurama screaming worriedly in his head.

The jinchuuriki stood where he was, waiting for the pain to calm down. It took him a few minutes to realize he was breathing, feeling his bare skin against the grass he was lying on. The pain slowly moved away from his chest, until finally it was nothing more than a nasty gag, as if he had burned himself cooking. The boy took a deep breath, feeling the air coming and going through his intact lungs, a sensation he had not had in a long time.

 **Kit?** Kurama called in his head. Naruto opened his eyes, seeing the dark forest around him, which was good. His eyes were not accustomed to the light. Only the moon bothered him (he did not look much into it to avoid a panic attack).

"What?" Naruto asked aloud. And he froze. That voice was not his voice, it was much sharper and childish.

 **Something went wrong,** Kurama began to say as Naruto sat down. **Your human body was not made to go through this type of jutsu, so...**

Naruto's eyes widened at the implication of this, and he looked at himself. The first thing he noticed was the color of his skin, much brighter than it had been before. He looked pale white, like Sai. The second thing he noticed was his size. He looked tiny, as if he had no more than ten years old. His skin was also full of faint scars, which he could remember of Madara's torture. He shivered, tracing the larger ones with his hands (also very tiny), over his thigh and chest. The boy was naked, too, which made him extremely uncomfortable.

"What ..." He stopped, uncomfortable with the high pitched voice he heard. He shuddered. _What happened?_ He continued in thought, which made him more comfortable.

 **Your body disintegrated in the time travel. I was unable to do much beyond use my chakra to create a new body for you kit.** The fox explained **. Your soul only managed to cross the river of time because it was attached to mine by the seal. I used all my knowledge of human genetics to create your body, but I was more familiar with your mother and Mito's bodys.**

Naruto was even paler, if it was possible and looked down, relaxing when he saw that he was still a boy. Mom and Mito? So...

It was when a little hair fell in front of him, and was not blond as he expected. It was reddish, more wine-colored than the color of his mother's hair, it reminded him a little of Mito's hair from the photos he had already seen. He was a bit hypnotized.

 **I had no choice but to rebuild your body as a complete Uzumaki, since I was not well aware of the genes of the Namikaze brat.** Kurama explained, pleased that his jinchuuriki was not freaking out yet.

_I'm redheaded._

**Yeah, I noticed.** Kurama snorted, noticing how the boy was mesmerized by it **.** **Since it was I who created this body.**

 _And..._ He paused, looking at himself. _The... Scars._

 **They marked you too much for me to get rid of them.** The fox said softly. Inside Naruto's mental landscape, the fox approached him, enveloping him with one of his tails **.** **Eventually they will disappear.**

Naruto shook his head. "They give me some relief." Naruto confided, risking speak aloud. "They ... prove that it happened. And that I'm not crazy. "

Kurama purred for that. **Yes, kit**.

"How far did you send us? And ... where are we? "

 **You from that timeline are 6years old now, I believe.** The nine-tails replied. **I brought us to a forest near the ruins of Uzushio.**

"Uzushio?" The ex-blond exclaimed, rising to his feet. He felt slightly dizzy with it, but remained firm.

 **Yes.** The fox voice was getting more and more tired. **I suggest you go to the ruins, there must be something you can use as clothes there for now, and somewhere to rest.**

The now-red-haired Uzumaki nodded in agreement, and Kurama's presence disappeared from him. The fox seemed to have gone to sleep. Alone, Naruto finally walked to where he could feel a massive amount of chakra, a sense of death, which was usually in places where wars had occurred. It was uncomfortable to walk without clothes, but at least there was no one around. Naruto did not know if could stand to prevent the torrent of negative memories if anyone saw him naked. The idea caused him chills.

As Kurama had said, the ruins of Uzushio were not far away. Naruto found them easily, beneath an ancient seal that seemed to hide the city from view. Probably done to prevent people loot the fallen city.

His first vision of Uzushio was... Amazing. It was empty, there was not a living soul there besides him, so he could feel, but it did not change the magnificence of the city. The floor was made of a smooth stone in spiraled patterns, marble columns held the roofs of the houses, and the walls were made of clear, reddish or orange stones. It was as if the walls were eternally drenched with a sunset.

Naruto let out a breath he did not know he was holding. The city was not perfect, of course. There were wrecks and many walls had holes of explosions, and bones of what appeared to be the ancient ninjas there. The redhead boy shook his head, focusing on looking for something that looked like a clothing store of some sort. He found one in what appeared to be the main square of the city. Most clothes and things were thrown, torn or broken, but he found the stock of the store, where most things were new. Some clothes had moth holes, but others looked intact. Naruto quickly found a long-sleeved orange blouse and a pair of black slacks that tied around his ankle with a rubber band. In addition, he found a pair of blue ninja’s sandals that fit at his feet.

More comfortable in clothes, the boy sat on one of the plaza benches, looking up and staring at the night sky. Calmly, he began to think what to do, to plan his steps. Naruto needed to get Danzou out of power before he ruined things even more. He could even save Sasuke's family. And for that he would need to go to Konoha... and prevent Sarutobi-jiji’s death. Just thought that the old man was alive made him happier.

Then something crossed his mind.

"I cannot be Uzumaki Naruto anymore," he said, to himself. The voice was still leaving him goose bumps but he could ignore. If he spoke often, he would probably get used to it. "Because there is already a Uzumaki Naruto here, and if I come in saying that I am from the future, I will probably be sent to T.I" He shuddered at the thought of the torture and interrogation division. His breath quickened, and he shook his head to clear his thoughts before he had a flashback there. "I need another name."

The young Uzumaki frowned, thinking before he smiled to himself.

"Uzumaki Ashura will be good enough."

 

_Uzumaki Ashura_


	2. Impetuous Attitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura has never been good at just sitting still and watching...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I edited the last chapter, and changed Naruto's(the one from this timeline, not Ashura) age to 6 years old, to be able to include the Uchiha massacre in the story.  
> Hope you like it!
> 
> PS: Still not beta readed

 

**"Impetuous Attitude"**

\-------------------------------------  
 **Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
 _Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

 

The next few weeks were slow for Ashura. The time with Madara had distorted his perception of time, he treated every second as an eternity, and it was insane. Kurama had said that he should take a break to think and relax, and try to get used to people again. The first walk out of the ruins he had gone to was to buy some things to eat in a nearby fishing village, and had ended up with him hiding in an alley, half choked by the presence of the people.

It was all Madara's fault. Ashura had become accustomed to being always tense around him, and he was the only person the boy had been around in a long time...

In addition, there was the problem with his chakra. That body being different and completely Uzumaki had totally changed the feeling his chakra gave him. Before, his chakra was naturally a breeze to him, so natural that he often did not even realize he was using it. This chakra, however, was different. Warm. The blue he was accustomed to had become a vicious purple, joining the Kyuubi's chakra much more easily than in his former body.

Digging around the town library, at Kurama's suggestion, Ashura had found several Uzumaki scrolls about chakra control exercises, and had been quite surprised. He had never enjoyed chakra exercises during his childhood, his chakra control had always been very bad, it was as if he tried to put the chakra in a box that was too small. However, the Uzumaki chakra exercises were insanely more... Interesting.

For example, there was this chakra exercise with gravity seals that made your body unbearably heavy if you did not channel a specific, stable amount of chakra into them. It looked like some sort of punishment for students who were not paying attention in class, from what he had read.

And there were those exercises that were fun, of course. He had found the one who used a surfboard that channeled chakra to "surf" around. The board unfortunately only worked on the stone of the city floor, and would work like a skateboard. It looked like a version of the water-walking exercise, but much more fun. Ashura spent several days searching houses and shops until he found such a board.

It took many tumbles and attempts, but within a few days he managed to control his chakra enough for that. He would still make the board jump by accident if he stopped paying attention, but at least he could float and control the direction that was going through the chakra flow. He would really like to be able to create something that would work in any type of soil, but he knew it would spend too much chakra, and would not be usable by any person who wasn’t an Uzumaki.

And finally, there was a fun and simple exercise. It was simply a spring with a piece of iron welded in, where the child would lean, channeling the chakra so that the feet clung to the material, and could jump with it around. It was the most basic exercise, simpler than climbing trees because you did not have to worry about getting your feet out of place, but it was a good, and fun place to start.

Ashura spent about a month practicing with his chakra, until he was able to do the basic jutsus again, except for the bushin because he was honestly useless at that. After that month, Ashura thought about returning to Konoha, until he found out that it was a vacation for the Academy, and that he still had two months before classes returned. Not wanting to waste time pretending to be a child, the jinchuuriki decided to stay, and studied fuuinjutsu.

As a student of Jiraya, Ashura had learned some basic knowledge of fuuinjutsu, but the idea of sealing had been very tedious and difficult at the time. Now he realized that it was much simpler. Ashura could focus more easily, which he thought was odd, so he asked Kurama. The fox seemed surprised by the question.

**You never noticed, kit? Your old body suffered from ADHD.**

That explained a lot, he guessed. He felt a little sorry for the Naruto of this world, now. He never had someone to help him about it.

The Uzumaki then used the power of shadow clones to learn about seals. Ashura studied seals for a forty-five days, and while he could hardly consider himself an expert, he was skilled enough to make basic seals, such as explosives and sealing scrolls, where he kept all the Fuuinjutsu scrolls he encountered during his in Uzushio. Armed with knowledge, three pairs of clothes and a little money, Ashura prepared to make a trip to Konoha...

Before leaving, however, the small Uzumaki stopped in the center of the village, spotting one of the hitai-ate of Uzushio. Mixed feelings of nostalgia and agony went through his chest when he picked it up and tied around his neck, like Hinata wore her hitai-ate as a gennin. He would not tie her to his forehead, it was the place of his Konoha hitai-ate, after all ... But that hitai-ate was important to him as well. It meant the beginning of his new life.

He walked across the island to the small port town of the region. With the few ryos he had, Ashura approached a port counter.

"Hi!" He said, in an innocent tone. Ashura was very good at it. As Naruto, he had always been a master of deception, but his current face, rounder, with larger eyes, more innocent-looking, was much better for this kind of game.

"Uh, hello." The gentleman behind the counter answered. "Need some help, boy? Did you get lost from your parents? "He seemed to watch Ashura's hair, and froze when he saw the hitai-ate.

"No!" Ashura chirped cheerfully. "I need to get to the fire country. Are there any ships I can ride? I can even pay if I need to! I don’t have much, though..." The child did his best to look disappointed.

The old man frowned at that. "Are you a Uzumaki, boy? This hitai-ate is from Uzushio, but you are too young to be an old ninja there, the village was gone a long time ago."

Ashura hesitated a little, trying to look as lost as he could. "I ... I am." He cast a suspicious glance at the man. "This hitai-ate was Mama's," he explained hesitantly. "You will not tell anyone, will you?"

The man looked at the boy's face, and shook his head. "Of course not, boy. You do not have to worry about paying, your ancestors have helped us a lot, kid. About the ship, just deliver this note to someone at number two" He indicated pointing to where Ashura needed to go. "And they'll let you in." The old man handed a note quickly scribbled to him.

"Thanks, Ojii-san!" Ashura exclaimed happily, relieved that he could save his money for other emergencies. The man smiled and waved as Ashura followed in quick strides to the ship the old man had pointed out.

 

\-------------------------------------

 

Later, inside the ship, Ashura finally leaned on the edge, to look at the water. His reflection seemed strange to him, not yet fully accustomed. He ran his hand through his hair, enjoying the feel of the soft and smooth hair, very different from his blond hair. He smiled to himself. _Hey, Ku,_ he called in his thoughts. _Do you think I'll be able to sign the contract with the toads again?_

**I doubt it, kit.** Kurama replied. **Which is great. There is nothing more embarrassing than my kit contract with the toads.** He snorted. **You should sign with the foxes.**

_The foxes?_ Ashura thought confused. _Is there a contract with the foxes?_

**Of course! It's my contract, actually. My kits had kits that had kits that made the contract.** Kurama explained. **I never told you?**

_No!_ Ashura exclaimed. _Can I sign the contract with the foxes? Please?_

**Heh, sure, kit.**

Ashura was bubbling with happiness. He felt sad that he could not have the contract with the toads, but the idea of doing a little more part of Kurama's family was relaxing. Maybe he was being too needy.

(Avoiding negative thoughts was difficult, he was suffocating just to push them away from his mind)

The trip to the Fire Country had been relatively quiet. It was not really a long way off. The only reason Ashura did not do with his chakra was for lack of confidence with his control yet. Besides, of course, leaving traces of his existence out there. It would not be good if he just 'showed' the air through the ninja world. He had left his existence in several of the small villages of Uzu no Kuni. He knew there was a rumor about him running in the mouths of the civilians, about the strange lonely boy who seemed to live in the ruins of Uzushiogakure... And that was good.

The more traces he was there, the less chance Konoha's ninjas would distrust him when he arrived.

When they reached the mainland (What Ashura thanked the heavens), the redhead Uzumaki almost had to run away from quite a few worried sailors. They seemed to think that Ashura needed help, and that it was dangerous for him to go out there alone. To be honest, it probably was. Kiri and Kumo were notoriously known for hunting down all Uzumaki to death, for fear of their sealing techniques, long life and extreme physical strength. It was what had caused the destruction of the village, after all.

Ashura tightened the hitai-tie on his neck, feeling a little emotional with those thoughts. He might not have known the village or its people, but knew that they were his family and had been annihilated ... It was painful. Ashura decided, then, that he would make a name for himself, strong enough to draw attention from the Uzumaki scattered all over the world. To lure them to Konoha and form a clan again, a family, for him and little Naruto.

(The redhead wanted to protect his family)

He shook his head, focusing on the path ahead of him. He needed to keep his eye on his way. Ashura had already passed through the forest between Konoha and Wave several times, of course, but it was a forest, they did not stay the same for long. It could become a maze if he did not know what he was looking for.

His body was too small so he could cover that distance in a short time, even infusing his legs with chakra to move faster. Ashura had to settle for a civil run, and several pauses to breathe, since his infant body was not accustomed to so much stress. Two days of walking had taken him a long way. He walked all day, barely stopping to eat a bar of cereal at noon. The former blonde stopped just when it was getting dark too, since he could not see properly.

He would camp, then. With a fire to heat the water for his ramen. Ashura had been irrevocable in buying several pots of instant ramen and a kettle for his trip, though Kurama still said it was a waste of money.

On the third day, to his misfortune, it was raining. As much as Ashura wanted to continue his path as fast as possible, he could not risk getting sick. _Imagine, Naruto, the hero of Konoha, coming back in time to save everyone, dying of a cold in the middle of the forest._ The thought was funny in a morbid way.

Ashura found a small cave, which was mostly safe, and made a campfire with a simple katon for practice. Sitting against the wall of the cave, he waited, wanting the rain to pass quickly.

_Ku_? He called, but there was no answer. The fox should be sleeping again. The young Uzumaki sighed angry about it. He really wanted to have someone to talk to now, the time of isolation was good, and at the same time scary. It was good because people made him tense like hell, but it was scary because he had always been a sociable person. Isolation reminded him of his childhood, and it always made him uncomfortable.

“Remember, remember, please remember who I used to be / Who am I, who am I, I'm a puppet in their game” Ashura sang softly, to himself. Singing had been an acquired habit as he tried to get accustomed to his voice again. Ashura found himself surprisingly good at it. “Remember, remember, please remember who I used to be / Who am I, who am I, my reality has slipped away…”

Then that scent made him freeze.

That smell, so familiar, so terrifying. The smell of blood, still hot, carried by the wind. It was close, or it would not have come through the rain. Ashura breathed his mouth, trying to calm down, with the nausea letting him dizzy. His nose was very sensitive, and the scent triggered panic alerts in his mind.

The sound that followed was, in a way, even more frightening. It seemed to be chirping of more than a thousand birds, Ashura knew that sound too well. _Chidori._ The young Uzumaki shuddered, pressing his hand against his chest, the place where his former brother had pierced him with the jutsu. _Do not think about it..._

Ashura stood up, ignoring the nausea. _The only person who knows this jutsu at the moment is Kakashi._ He thought, trying to be rational. But it was incredibly difficult. _That means he's here. Fighting._ Against his will, his legs began to walk. He felt the water fall and run down his red hair, and drip irritatingly under his nose. He followed the scent, cautiously hiding his chakra as best he could. Shrinking through the bushes, Ashura approached where the fighting sounds seemed to be coming.

The first thing he noticed was the familiar silver hair that made his chest leap with happiness. _Kakashi-sensei!_ But he stopped when noticed the red liquid coming from Kakashi's arm, from a deep-looking cut. Kakashi was wearing his Anbu uniform, with his mask and everything, and he looked rather beat up. Ashura turned his eyes to the other ninja in the clearing. _Juzo Biwa, Kirigakure Missing-nin, Bloodbath Demon._ Ashura looked at the sword the man carried. He immediately recognized it as Zabuza's sword, and frowned at it. He knew that Juzo was important in some way, but he could not figure out how.

And he did not even have time for it. Juzo ran to Kakashi, trying to cut him with Zabuza’s sword, and Kakashi swerved, barely dodging from being sliced. The copycat did not look good, Ashura realized, eagerly. He looked sick, actually. His movements were a little dizzy, a bit hesitant, a little staggering.

Juzo did not care though, as he continued to attack Kakashi, looking insane and crazy for blood. He laughed as he attacked. Kubikiribocho, the sword, sneezed the blood that covered it on all sides. Kakashi avoided being cut again with a Kawarimi, appearing behind Juzo with a Kunai, ready to cut the man in the neck. But Juzo was prepared, kicking him against the stomach. Kakashi could not deviate and was thrown against a tree.

_Kakashi will not die_. Ashura tried to reassure himself _. He cannot die. He will be alive to be mine... Naruto's sensei..._

But Kakashi did not move as Juzo approached, raising his sword to strike a mortal blow to Kakashi.

_Move, move, move, move..._ Ashura practically screamed in his thoughts. _Someone needs to help him! Move, damn Kakashi!_

No one was coming.

Ashura moved without thinking.

At one point, Ashura was hiding, wet and terrified at the idea of his sensei being sliced like ham, and in the other, he was throwing himself behind Juzo. Maybe it was an instinct of his childish body, but Ashura held himself in Juzo’s back, pressing his arms against Juzo's neck, throwing all his weight back, trying to unbalance him. But it was not very helpful, since he was just a skinny ten years old boy.

It was enough to stop Juzo’s blow, however. The adult seemed surprised at Ashura’s sudden movement, writhing to get him out.

"Holy shit, a child?" Juzo almost howled. Ashura did not respond, pressing more against his neck, choking him. Juzo coughed to this, half choking, dropping his sword. "Get off me, brat!"

Ashura would not let go, so Juzo lifted his arms, holding the young Uzumaki by the back of his shirt, and pulling him hard. The Kiri's jounin threw him away with a growl, and Ashura whined, a little dizzy from the fall.

Juzo then took his sword once more, staring deathly at the redhead. "I'll slice you and put your head in my gate, you fucking brat." Ashura shuddered at the death intention that the missing-nin was casting at him, but did not move. Juzo approached him, raising his sword. "Say goodbye to your damn life..."

Then he coughed blood as a sword pierced him, crossing his back until the tip came out of his chest. Juzo looked back, blood streaming down his mouth and a look of complete shock. Ashura also looked, hit heart racing in his chest.

_Kakashi._

Kakashi, in his Anbu mask, had risen amid Ashura’s distraction, and recovered enough to take advantage of it and kill Juzo. The Kiri's jounin fell, then, drowning in its own blood. Kakashi said nothing, just stared at Ashura without saying a word.

The boy was about to get up and say something, trying to think of a rational explanation to get involved in the fight of two adult ninjas, when Kakashi fell. Fainted. And Ashura has never been so relieved in his life.

He could not think of a good excuse.


	3. Helpfull Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kakashi wakes up, pretty scared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Thanks for all the comments and kudos, they make me really happy! ^^
> 
> There's a drawing in this one, too. Ashura's character chart! ^^ Hope you guys llike it
> 
> Thanks for reading!

**"Helpfull Ally"**

\-------------------------------------  
**Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
_Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

 

Kakashi woke up startled. His first reaction was, as always, touching his face, checking his mask, as he always did when he passed out on the field before looking around. He was in a cave. It seemed to rain on the outside, yet. There was a fire burning, but no sign of who had done it. His Anbu outfit was mostly damp, but he must have gotten out of the rain a long time ago, since his hair was not dripping.

It was then that a red blur entered his vision. The copy-cat ninja reacted before thinking, jumping over the blur, trying to get a kunai from his bag, but could not find it. He froze, holding the 'blur' on the ground by the throat, breathing heavily from the pain of the effort he was putting into his body.

His chakra levels were still too low.

Trying to calm down, Kakashi examined the 'blur', now quite visible. It was a boy, he realized, skinny. He must have been less than twelve. His hair was so red it reminded him of Kushina-nee-chan, only more drawn to wine than to tomato. His eyes were the same, that dark blue, like an oil blue. The boy watched him fiercely, though his hands trembled around Kakashi's wrist.

_Good, Kakashi._ The ninja thought. _Attacking a child._ He could almost hear Rin complaining about his paranoia.

(Except that Rin was dead, killed by his hands)

The copy-cat took a few moments to loosen the boy's neck and move away. The boy sat down, coughing heavily and touching his neck. He seemed to understand that he had almost been killed, if the way he gazed cautiously at Kakashi was any indication. Kakashi's eyes led him to the hitai-ate around the boy's neck, looking suspiciously. The metal plate of the hitai-ate was not visible, the fabric was too long, obviously not made for a child.

"Who are you?" Kakashi growled at the boy, his hand again automatically searching for his bag of weapons, it was agonizing to be without it.

The boy was silent for a few seconds, his eyes running from Kakashi to the entrance of the cave. He seemed ready to flee, at any sign of aggressiveness. The redheaded boy smelled like forest and sea, an interesting combination.

"Ashura," he finally replied, shrugging. "My name is Ashura." The boy took a falsely relaxed stance.

Kakashi frowned, he did not recognize that name from nowhere, after all. "What village are you from?"

"Uh, none." The boy blinked. "My village was destroyed... A long time ago." The painful smile that appeared on his lips could not be false, so Kakashi accepted the answer. The pain in his eyes made him uneasy, and he felt the urgency of changing the subject.

It was painful, those sad eyes, so much like Kushina-nee-chan's.

"Oh, did you ask because of the hitai-ate?" The boy seemed to understand, and lifted it a little, so that Kakashi could see the symbol on it. The spiral made the copy-cat freeze. "It was from my mother," he explained.

_Uzumaki._

"Of course you had to be a Uzumaki." Kakashi snorted. "Leaping impulsively in a fight for someone you do not know, it's completely understandable if you're a Uzumaki."

_It was not,_ but Kakashi would like to believe so. Something made him want to trust this boy, but he did not know what it was.

"Hey! It was not... impulsive! "The boy's face turned red, matching his hair. "I could not let you die! If you died, things would go wrong! "

Kakashi blinked. _What?_ And the boy froze, seeming to notice what he had said.

"Go wrong?" Kakashi asked, slowly. His posture became cautious.

"W-well, yeah!" The boy nodded. He looked nervous now. "You ... You're from Konoha, right?" Ashura seemed to think a lot of what he'd say. "It's kinda... obvious. Your hair is just like the copy-cat-san in Bingo books. And not many people have a hair like that..."

Kakashi frowned, yes, that reasoning made sense, but it did not explain anything at the same time.

"I'm losing my patience," Kakashi warned, looking deadly at the boy. "What did you mean by going all wrong, brat?" Ashura swallowed nervously.

"Well! You know! I wanted to go to Konoha, to ask for asylum, you know! And it would be very bad if you died, because they might think it was my fault, datteba... sa! "The verbal tic caught Kakashi's attention.

"That does not make sense," Kakashi stated.

"Of course it does!" The boy looked a little desperate. "Ninjas are paranoid! I did not want to go to the T. I. only because I arrived in the village along with the news of the death of one of the greatest ninjas in there! It would be very, very bad, dattebasa!"

Kakashi sighed. It was paranoid reasoning, and quite childish. He could accept that.

"And that's why you got involved in a fight between two ninjas?" Kakashi confirmed. "That was really stupid."

Ashura gave a half shaky laugh and scratched behind his head. "Yeah ..."

Kakashi sighed and looked out of the cave.

"Where are we?"

"To be honest, I have no idea." Ashura shrugged again, this time with a half embarrassed smile. "I was walking to Konoha, I stopped here because it was raining."

A strange silence ended between them, but Kakashi ignored it. Despite being grateful for the boy's help, he did not want to connect emotionally, especially not with some... Some of Kushina's relatives. His mind went to Konoha, where the woman's son resided.

"How's the cut?" Ashura asked suddenly. "You were losing a lot of blood, shinobi-san." The boy's gaze was haunted when he thought about it.

"Hmmm, it's okay." He glanced at his arm, now bandaged. The boy seemed to be experienced at this, the bandages were very well placed. Neither too tight, nor too loose.

"That's good," Ashura nodded, moving into the backpack. "Here." He handed the bag of kunais to Kakashi. "I thought I'd better take it from you. People get aggressive when they wake up near strangers. "The little pale hand touched the neck, with a half-sad smile.

Kakashi caught up with no other word, relieved. Having his weapons back was like a boy's peace gesture, he noticed. Ashura seemed to expect Kakashi to say something, but when Kakashi did not, the boy sighed and took two cups of instant ramen from his bag. He picked up a bottle lying on the floor, which seemed to have fallen off when Kakashi attacked him and poured the water into a small kettle, holding it to heat under the fire.

"Do you prefer pork or beef?" The boy asked, holding both cups of ramen. Kakashi raised his eyebrow at this, even though the boy could not see, because of his mask.

"Beef." The copy-cat said. Ramen was not the best food to take to travel. Kakashi frowned at himself, with the mystery that this boy represented. At certain points he seemed very experienced at his young age. In others, he looked like a child. "Where are your parents, Ashura-kun?"

The redhead froze over the question, half opening the cup ramen, and looked at the gray-haired ninja. "Dead" Ashura's voice was simple and flat, without much emotion about it. Kakashi guessed the event was not very recent.

They both fell silent as the water warmed.

"Do you have a name, shinobi-san?" Ashura asked, so it seemed to be more for politeness than anything. He had talked about the Bingo Book before, and probably already knew the answer to that question.

(Kakashi never understood the logic to hide the identity of several ninjas, where everyone always had something remarkable about them)

"You can call me Inu," Kakashi replied, touching his mask.

"Inu-san." Ashura smiled when he said that name, looking strangely amused. "Are you going to Konoha soon, Inu-san?"

"Maa, when the rain to stop, I imagine." Kakashi looked at the cave entrance. It did no good to run to Konoha now. The forest was dense, and the rain only made it more confused. The mission was complete a lot ahead of schedule, he did not have to worry too much.

"Oh." Ashura nodded. "Er ... Do you mind if I go with you?" The boy scratched behind his head, with a half embarrassed smile, before picking up the kettle and starting to fill the ramen with water. "I'm kind of not sure which way I'm going. It's my first time out of Uzu no Kuni, dattebasa "

(Ashura was annoyed at how easy the verbal tic stuck to him, after two months trying to avoid his usual "dattebayo".)

Kakashi watched the boy, wet, thin and half dirty. Uzu no Kuni was far, especially for a child. _He may be from the Kushina-nee-chan family,_ a part of his mind whispered. _I can not just leave him in the forest alone, Uzumakis are already hunted enough._ And the boy was a full Uzumaki, from what he could see. The appearance was very specific ... And the verbal tic.

_Besides,_ that nagging voice that Kakashi nicknamed conscience told _. Naruto-kun can benefit from having a family around, even if it's another child._

Ashura shifted in discomfort at the delay in his response before Kakashi nodded. "Well, I'll guide you, and introduce you to the Hokage." Kakashi paused. "Konoha will always accept the Uzumaki."

It was well known that one of Konoha's greatest regrets of the war was the destruction of Uzushio.

Ashura laughed softly and smiled at Kakashi.

“Thanks!”

The Anbu looked away, breathing slowly. It was hard to look at Ashura. Ashura reminded him of two of his many faults.

_Kushina-nee ..._ _Naruto... Sorry ..._

Ashura, fortunately, did not interrupt his thoughts, remaining silent, just leaving the ramen beside him and beginning to eat. Kakashi took a few moments to do the same.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

The rain passed not long afterwards, fortunately, so both started to make their way to Konoha. Ashura was feeling happy and at the same time nervous about being around Kakashi, this Kakashi. A strange Kakashi, and at the same time similar to his sensei.

This Kakashi was kind enough to follow in his step, and to protect him. But at the same time, he obviously tried to keep his distance, as he had for years, for fear of losing someone again.

His Kakashi had overcome that, a little. It was painful to see this adult - teenager - so socially inept again.

Ashura wanted to help Kakashi. But could not do much, yet.

_I promise I'll teach you how to approach people again, Kakashi-sensei..._

His infant body soon got tired, though. Several days of non-stop walking as well as fighting had previously been very stressful for his body.

"Okay, if we continue like this, we will never get here, Ashura-kun." Kakashi said, looking back, where Ashura was walking, slowing down by fatigue. The boy blushed and stopped at his side.

"Sorry"

Kakashi sighed and lowered. "Come on, get on my back. I'll run with us the rest of the way. "Ashura looked surprised.

"But you're hurt!" Protested the redhead. Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"It's just a cut, just get on my back Ashura-kun. I'll be fine. "Ashura wanted to argue, but nodded, embarrassed. The boy held tightly to the adult's back.

Kakashi can not help noticing how strange it seemed, as Ashura did not seem to know exactly how to hold himself. Clearly, the boy was not used to be carried, and that left some discomfort in his throat.

The copycat began to run, then, jumping from tree to tree, holding the redheaded boy on his back.

_Soon they would be in Konoha._

_Soon,_ Ashura thought, _everything will start._

__


	4. Mind Walker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura finally gets in Konoha, and some secrets are revelated

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! How are you this Christmas Eve? I was going to post on the 27th, but I decided to hurry to finish the chapter and post in time for Christmas! ^^ It's my gift to you, I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> Enjoy your reading!

**"Mind Walker"**

\-------------------------------------  
**Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
_Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

Ashura found himself sitting in front of the Hokage's door, looking up distractedly. His chest was exploding with various feelings that he could not handle. The boy shuddered, he could hear Kakashi talking to the Hokage inside the office, but it was just incomprehensible murmurs, thanks to the secrecy seals on the doors. Part of him wanted to hear, not having control over the situation made him startled.

This feeling was happening too often, and he did not like it.

The door opened and Ashura looked a little startled, only to relax minimally when he saw Kakashi, still in Anbu's mask and clothing, watching him. "Hokage-sama wants to see you." His voice was calm enough, but Ashura did not trust it too much. He nodded, getting up.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Sarutobi looked at the boy that Inu had found. Part of him wanted to deny that boy existed, erase him from history. But he could not, not seeing that hair, those eyes. The tone was too precise, it was impossible to replicate without seeing. It almost made Sarutobi choke. _Mito-sama._ It was like looking at the biggest mistake of his years as Hokage. This child meant a very painful thing for him as the leader of Konoha.

There were Uzumakis alive and well, and they no longer trusted Konoha to seek shelter. Not after Konoha failed to help them against Iwa and Kiri.

Sarutobi understood, but it still hurt him. But they did not call him Kami no Shinobi for nothing. He hid these feelings behind a half-parental smile, which he used with children to ensure his confidence. "Hello" He greeted. "My name is Sarutobi Hiruzen. I am the Leaf Village Hokage. What's your name?"

The boy did not answer immediately. His eyes were a little wide, almost as if he were seeing a ghost. His skin was paler than usual, and the way he was shaking seemed like he was going to cry. "N ... A-Ashura," he replied weakly. "Uzumaki Ashura" Finally said, a little more firmly.

His reaction was strange, Sarutobi allowed. However, what attracted him most was his eyes. That blue, like a deep sea, was usually a door to the soul. And in his soul, Sarutobi saw pain. Agony. Nostalgia. Fault. And, mainly, sadness. They were very old eyes, for a very new face. _What happened to you, my child?_

"Ashura-kun, then?" Sarutobi asked, with a patient smile. Ashura smiled back at him, but the smile did not reach his eyes. "Inu-san here told me that you were looking for Konoha to seek asylum."

The boy shifted uncomfortably with that question, looking down. His cheeks turned a little red, and his chakra, which before seemed almost controlled, had some peaks that Sarutobi normally identified as one of his Anbu who needed a break in the missions. When they were too affected, too suicidal to continue doing missions.

It was not something he wanted to feel about a child.

"H-hm, yes." Ashura finally said. He put his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slightly raised, together with his body. Her posture was defensive, frightened. Sarutobi could see clearly how he struggled to stay there, his eyes shifting to one of the windows every few seconds, or to Kakashi, who was standing in front of the door. Sarutobi could tell that he felt trapped. "I-I guessed it was not very wise... To continue living... In the ruins of a ghost town." The pain was visible in his words. The faint smile on his lips was more false than a picnic request from the Raikage.

"Oh yes, yes," Sarutobi agreed. "Ruins are not a good place for a child to grow up." A part of the old Hokage wanted to protect that boy, something in him made him want to hold him and calm his fears. Maybe it was the because of the past, perhaps because this boy looked a lot like his unofficial grandson, Naruto. "Konoha will always be open to an Uzumaki; you were very brave to come here, my boy."

Ashura's face turned red, and his smile seemed a little more honest now.

"However ..." Sarutobi continued, slowly. "A short time ago there was an attempted abduction of an heiress from one of the Konoha clans." The teacher thought of Hyuuga Hinata, and the kidnapping attempt three years earlier. "And so we're taking a little more care of who goes into Konoha ..."

Ashura seemed to be paralyzed, his look frightened.

"Then you must undergo mental analysis, by one of our shinobi. Oh, do not worry, it's nothing bad."Sarutobi assured. "It's just a jutsu that will know if you're not a danger to the village. After passing through, we may consider you a citizen of Konoha. "

Despite his kind words, Sarutobi could see that the boy understood what he meant. Ashura seemed to want to say something, but managed, after a moment, bowing to the Hokage.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." His voice was distant, agonized. "Just... Just... My head... It's not a beautiful place to be."

The look Ashura gave him was serious, so Sarutobi nodded. "I'll make sure the ninja that does it is good enough. Do not worry."

Ashura smiled faintly, as if he knew something that the Hokage did not, but did not say anything else. The tension in his shoulders was visible, so the Hokage looked at Kakashi.

"Inu-san, if you do not mind, could get Inoichi-san for me?" He did not want to take this kid to one of the white and frightening rooms of T. I. He did not frighten the boy more than necessary.

Kakashi nodded and bowed, disappearing with a silent shunshin.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Ashura was mentally freaking out. He almost hyperventilated internally, in panic. They would look at his memories, his memories. He was not stupid. The redhead knew that if he told the future, they would not trust him, they would not believe him. Ashura was just an unknown Uzumaki, a nobody, with no credibility for it.

**Do not worry, Naruto.** Kurama said, in his mind. **I'll block most of your memories. I'll get him out fast.**

Ashura scowled at the old name, he felt more and more wrong for him. _Are you sure it will work?_

Kurama just laughed, and Ashura sighed. There was no getting around that. He would just have to trust his partner. He smiled to himself, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Trusting Kurama was his greatest talent.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Inoichi did not like being woken up so early (it was only five in the morning for God's sake), especially on a day off, so his awakening by a familiar Anbu had left him less than satisfied. Especially when it was time to use his jutsu on a child. This almost made him question the sanity of the Hokage, but he ignored these thoughts, changing clothes quickly and follow the ninja over the rooftops quickly.

The boy was in the Hokage's office, as Inu had told him. Sitting in a chair, talking softly to the man. He seemed to describe something that seemed to be a chakra control exercise. His red hair was very messy, falling down his pale face, and capping his eyes from view. He stopped as soon as Inoichi came in, turning to him quickly. This was easily read as at least a little sensor skill. Inoichi watched him interested.

"Hokage-sama." The man bowed deeply.

"Ah, Inoichi-kun." The hokage greeted. "Thank you for coming so early in the morning, but we had an emergency, you see."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, but the Hokage just looked at the boy.

"My mind is not a place for weak people to go," Ashura offered. "Hokage-sama believed that you were the strongest person to handle my memories. It's not pretty. I hope you have not had breakfast yet, dattebasa "The smile he gave was more like a bad omen than anything.

Inoichi sighed, in a bad mood. Had the Hokage been convinced by that? He had already been in the minds of criminals, and of several traumatized Anbus. Most people in his department had a lot of experience. Anyone could wander through the mind of a child.

"Good." He looked at the Hokage. "I'll start, shall I?" He waited for the man to nod. Ashura sat up straighter, trying to look confident, obviously, but Inoichi could see the boy's hands shaking, leaning against the bench.

Inoichi approached the boy and raised his hand, touching his head. Ashura froze in his hand.

"Saiko Denshin no Jutsu!"

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

Everything was dark, Inoichi realized. He looked around, but he could barely see anything. The appearance of the subconscious was always a mirror of memories, showed a lot of how one viewed the world. Darkness was never a good sign. ( _Depression_ )

Inoichi took a step forward, listening to the sound of water and looked down. There was some kind of red liquid up his ankle. It was not blood, it was less dense than that, but it was still a red that resembled blood. ( _Wounds_ )

The adult frowned, having a bad feeling about it. He walked a little more. Things were getting clearer and he could see that he was following a corridor when he heard a scream.

The voice was unfamiliar, but that was common. People's mental voice rarely matched their physical voice, especially in their early years, before puberty, as the voice was constantly changing. Inoichi followed the sound, however, reaching a door. He touched the knob when a small hand touched his wrist.

It was Ashura. He blinked in surprise. Rarely anyone could follow him into the jutsu. "Are you sure you want to go there?" The boy's voice was like the scream. More serious, older. "It's not a very beautiful place."

"It's my job." Inoichi said. Ashura looked pained, but he nodded, letting go of his wrist.

"Please, please... Do not tell anyone," he said softly.

"I need to tell the Hokage everything I see." The blonde looked suspiciously at the boy.

"For the Hokage, that's okay," Uzumaki conceded. "Just... just for him. OK?"

Inoichi's gaze softened and he nodded. "It's ok."

And he opened the door.

It was the door of memories, he soon discovered, when his vision became first-person. Unlike public knowledge, Yamanakas did not have a third-person view of an event, only memories, always in the first person. He could see the dark sky, and the face of somebody, with black hair, pale face, marked by scars, and red eyes.

"Haha, good morning, my dear." The person whispered. Inoichi noticed Ashura's quickened breath from the sound, and looked down. What he saw almost made him sick.

The boy's skin was marked by what appeared to be hundreds of scars and cuts. There was more blood to the skin and a kunai now stuck in his thigh. The body seemed larger than it should for a child, but most memories could be distorted like this, because of his own brain that expected to see an adult size when looking down.

"S-stop" It was the voice of Ashura. "Please ... Please ... Enough ..."

The begging was pathetic. Inoichi tried not to think too much about the fact that someone was doing this with a child.

Unfortunately for him, it only got worse.

 

\---------------------------------------------------

 

It took half an hour for Inoichi to get out of Ashura's mind. When Ashura finally managed to open his eyes, he noticed that tears were streaming down his face. Inoichi was pale. He swallowed, and Ashura purposely averted his eyes from the adult, not wanting to see the pity he could feel from Inoichi's gaze.

"He's clean," Inoichi said to the Hokage. "I'll make a report, Hokage-sama. But he's clean. I've never seen so much Will of Fire in someone who is not Konoha before. "The blond gave a weak smile to the Hokage, and left before being given permission.

"I wonder what he saw in his little head to make him so upset." Inu spoke to Ashura from behind the boy. The redhead jumped in fright, looking at Kakashi. He coughed a little, looking down again.

"He saw enough." It was the boy's weak response.

"Hmm ..." Kakashi said simply, reaching up and touching Ashura's hair. The Hokage noted this intensely.

"Well, the mental analysis has been finalized. We can continue with the integration of Ashura-kun as a citizen of Konoha. "

Ashura lifted his head at that, taking care not to take Kakashi's hand from his hair. Unlike Inoichi's, which had left him tense, Kakashi's had left him relaxed. Part of him still wanted to believe that Kakashi would never be able to hurt him. Part of him desperately needed someone to trust in this new world.

"Ashura-kun, when's your birthday?"

The boy blinked. He had not thought of that.

"I do not have one," he answered honestly. "I know I'm ten, but I do not know when I was born." Looking at a calendar looked stupid by the time he was born, after all.

The Hokage looked at him for a few moments before nodding.

"Well, we can mark today as your new birthday," the Hokage suggested, with a gentle smile. "To mark the beginning of your new life." Ashura blinked in surprise, and nodded with a small smile, but true in his eyes.

"Okay" The Hokage marked on August 27 in his file.

"Now, I could not help noticing that you have some ninja training," Sarutobi said, and Ashura nodded, kind of red.

_I have sixteen years of ninja training, this is not 'a little'..._ But he did not say it, because that would be stupid.

"If you want, I can fit you into one of the classes at the Academy. You're a bit late, but you can try to keep up with the 10-year-old class, yet. They are not really that advanced in the shinobi arts yet, since we are in periods of peace. "Sarutobi explained.

_Oh no._ Despair hit Ashura. _The Academy, again... No...!_

But he did not say that. Instead, what came out of his mouth was…

"Okay."

In the Inside, Ashura cried.

 

_Merry Christmas!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to change the drawing for this chapter, so sorry if it did not get very good, I did in a hurry.
> 
> The next chapter should be out in 5 ~ 6 days, depending on the year-end holidays. There's always a party here at home, so I will not be able to write so often, but I'll try to post another chapter before the end of the year. ^^
> 
> Also, thanks for all the kudos and comments! We recently got 100 kudos, and I've never been so happy with a story before! Many thanks, you are the best!


	5. Not A Monster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura finds Naruto, and things get weird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heya! How are you folks going? :D  
> I promised to write a chapter before new year, and here it is! I was going to finish it until 30th, but i got too... Ahm... excited and I ended the chapter sooner than I thought. ^^"
> 
> Mentions of depressive thoughts in this chapter. Be careful!

**"Not A Moster"**

\-------------------------------------  
**Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
_Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

The apartment that Ashura had been given was better than his first when he was still Naruto. He already knew it would be so, but it was still a little painful to think about how much he had lost by being a Jinchuuriki. His first apartment was bad because it was the only place that would accept him. And he never had the money to go elsewhere, since stores always charged him more for their products.

Now, he had an apartment in the ninja area of the city, near the jounin buildings. His apartment had two bedrooms, one with a bed, a closet, and a shelf, along with a rug on the floor, and the other, smaller, which was closed and empty. The living room was next to the kitchen, small, but he did not care. And there was also a common bathroom, but still much better than its old one, that the hot water tended to not work often.

He would not complain, especially after months in ruins, and from the time during the war that his room was a hole in a hurriedly made trench.

Ashura had access to the orphan fund, which was the same value he always was when he was just a child. That worried him initially, since that value had never been good enough to support him, but he quickly discovered that without Naruto's face, he was able to get everything he needed for much lower values.

That did not stop him from buying instant ramen more often than real food, to be honest, but at least he added eggs and some greens in the middle most of the time.

Ashura spent most of his first week inside the apartment, however. The amount of people on the streets was scary. The young Uzumaki felt too overwhelmed to be able to do much, so he began to use less used paths if he really needed to leave the home.

Kakashi had not attempted to contact him after the analysis the Hokage had given him, but sometimes Ashura could feel his chakra around without even seeing him. At least once a day, as if Kakashi was checking that everything was fine.

It was better than the **other** chakras he could feel around. Initially, Ashura thought that they were anbus, but the lack of variation in the chakra, related to emotions, reminded him something else.

Root.

The redhead did not like the idea of Danzou collecting information about him, but there was nothing he could do. It's not as if his current body could fight Root, or assassinate Danzou (although he needed to figure out how to do it soon). He made sure of spending time doing boring and monotonous things so as not to give Danzou any kind of ammunition against him.

Which meant he was 'getting ready for the Academy.’

Honestly, Ashura did not want to study. He understood that it was necessary, because he had been scraping through his first life and it would not be nice to try to repeat it, but reading those story texts and the shinobi rules were nothing but boring. Especially since no one would use them after leaving the Academy. But He still read them all during his one hour of study a day.

The rest of the day was spent with chakra control exercises (the conventional ones, Ashura had finally reached the level of control enough to be able to try tree climbing), or precision with shurikens.

It had been a week since Ashura had arrived, when "the incident" happened. The redhead was in the playground, sitting on the swing, watching people walk around. It was an activity he had begun to do a short time ago, trying to get used to being around thousands of chakra signatures again when someone touched his shoulder.

His initial reaction was to push the person away, but he froze it, consciously, forcing his muscles to paralyze.

"Oe! This is my swing, dattebayo! "Ashura blinked, recognizing the voice. Oh, shit.

He looked at the person who had spoken. That blond hair, round face and marked cheeks made him want to shake. Naruto. He, the mini-him. That child was a representation of all the agony that had been growing up for Ashura.

"I do not see your name on it." Ashura replied softly, controlling his outbursts of feelings. Naruto's face turned red and he looked like he was going to explode. The Parents of the children around were watching, noticing the presence of Naruto. Some seemed to want to take their children out of the park just because he was there. Ashura ignored all this, smiling at the boy. "But if you want to use it, just ask, dattebasa. Manners are a good thing."

 _I can not get close to him._ Ashura thought to himself desperately. But he wanted to. There was no excuse in letting Naruto grow for himself, knowing how difficult it would be. Even if everything worked out in the end.

His morals and logic were quite divided at that moment.

The small Naruto watched the redhead, frowning at the verbal tic Ashura.

"Are you mocking me?" He asked, looking angry but at the same time confused. Ashura inclined his head at the six-year-old.

"Uh, no?" He said confused. "I seem to be mocking?"

"Everyone seems dattebayo!" He exclaimed, upset.

Oh. Yes. This Naruto did not have Iruka yet. For all he knew, people just wanted him far. It hurt in Ashura this thought. Trying to fend off the memories that sprang to the top of his mind, the redhead stood up.

"I'm not mocking you," he explained. "I have a verbal tic as well. It's something common in my family. "

Naruto looked interested in this.

"In your family?" Ashura nodded.

"Yeah." The Uzumaki were known for it. "Anyway, you can keep the balance. I really needed to go train. Bye, shrimp. "

It was very difficult for Ashura to escape without being too rude. Fortunately, Naruto did not seem offended when he left, probably not accustomed to being pulled away delicately, and anything close to that was good for him.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Ashura leaned against a tree, taking a deep breath. He had run away from the park after leaving Naruto's vision. He leaned against the wood, sliding to the floor. The hand went automatically to where Uzushio’s hitai-ate should have been, which he had left at home, not wishing to arouse suspicion in the surrounding ninjas. The lack of hitai-ate made him nervous, so he held the shirt instead.

"Shit," he whispered to himself. "Why him? I can not be near him. It's suspicious! He is a jinchuuriki... "

 **You're the closest family thing he has, Kit.** Kurama spoke, and Ashura flinched.

"I know. But... You know I can not..."

 **Can not? Do not make me laugh.** Kurama growled furiously. **You can, and you know it, you're letting him suffer for no reason. We go back in time to change things, not for you to be avoiding the people who are the keys to changing the future!**

Ashura was silent, stunned. It had been a long time since Kurama had yelled at him like this. Kurama then fell silent, and Ashura felt that the fox had moved away into the depths of the mind, away from Ashura.

He hugged his own knees.

_I can’t, Ku..._

Ashura was scared.

And Ashura hated being scared.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Kurama did not speak to him in the next few days. Ashura also did not leave the house by that time, spending all the time in his apartment. Depressive thoughts lurked in his mind.

 _You're letting your fear be stronger than you, Ashura._ He thought to himself _. You would not do this before._

But now he did, and he knew why.

_Madara broke me._

He had returned to fix things, but how could he do this if he was broke? How could he save the world if he could not even save himself?

That hurt.

Feeling a little suffocated in his small apartment, Ashura stood up. _Maybe going out for a walk can help me._

Ashura left then the apartment, ignoring the half-eaten cup of ramen on the table, who had been his lunch that day.

It was around 05:00 pm, and the streets were not so crowded. The lack of people was relaxing. Ashura found himself sitting on a bench in the same park that had found Naruto.

"Yo." Someone said after a few minutes of peace, and Ashura jumped in fright. He recognized the chakra signature, though.

"Inu-san!" He said, looking back, and then blinked. It was Kakashi. Without his Anbu mask. The jounin gave him that usual eye-smile, and then sat down beside him.

"Inu? I've never heard of that person," he said innocently. "My name is Hatake Kakashi."

"Oh, sorry, Hatake-san." Ashura smiled at him, tilting his head. "You look a lot like a friend, dattebasa. Silver hair and everything. A great guy, this Inu-san."

Kakashi nodded at that, acknowledging the compliment, and leaning lazily on the bench.

"What's your name?" Kakashi asked, even though he already knew.

"Ashura," the redhead replied, rolling his eyes. It's not as if Kakashi could avoid being recognized, since his hair was so gaudy. If he wanted discretion, he should wear a bonnet or something of the sort.

"You look pretty thoughtful, Ashura-kun," Kakashi said. The redhead blinked and looked away.

"Is it that obvious?" He asked with a weak laugh. It was a little scary how easy it was to open up for Kakashi.

"Maa, not much." Kakashi laughed. "But your chakra is too rebellious for someone calm."

"Oh." Ashura had not noticed. He frowned and tried to control it, but his chakra did not want to be controlled.

"So, what happened to leave you like this?" The boy cocked his head at the question and looked away.

"I have this friend... who is suffering now. I only met him once, actually. But you could tell, he was suffering, alone, and no one is going to do anything to help."Ashura explained, his shoulders curling in guilt. "And I wanted to help. But if I do, you may think I'm a bad person. "

"Why would anyone think so?" Kakashi looked a little surprised.

"This my friend is special," Ashura explained, kicking up some dirt. "I felt. His chakra is... quite different. And there are always ninjas watching over him. And... I'm new. If I try to interact with him, people may find me suspicious. I want to help him, but..."

Kakashi watched him and looked up. The silver-haired ninja thought he knew who Ashura was talking about.

"Ashura-kun ... A friend of mine, a long time ago, told me something that I think is important for you to understand." He looked at the boy. "In the shinobi world, anyone who breaks the rules is considered trash. But who abandons his comrades, it is worse than trash."

Ashura blinked, looking at Kakashi with wide eyes. Was Kakashi...?

"You're not a shinobi yet. But it's the same, Ashura-kun. He is your friend. Your comrade. And you're abandoning it because of the rules of the shinobi world."Ashura could hear the slight pain in Kakashi's voice.

"I... I am." Ashura nodded, then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'm abandoning him out of fear, because of stupid rules, and because I'm an idiot."

Kakashi laughed at Ashura's exasperated gaze.

"I'm an idiot," the redhead said a little louder.

"You are." Kakashi nodded.

"I'm the biggest idiot of all time."

"But it's still not too late to change." _Unlike me_. Kakashi thought, ignoring the wave of guilt that went through him.

Ashura watched him and smiled a little.

"Inu-san, thank you." He thanked her and Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"I'm not Inu-san." The copy-cat said.

"Riiiiiight." Ashura laughed. It was as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, because of that phrase.

It did not matter what was going to happen. It did not matter what the 'rules' said. Naruto, _Ashura_ , would never abandon his comrades. _Never_.

He stood up, turning to Kakashi, with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Hatake-san," the redhead said.

Kakashi just smiled with the visible eye at him, taking an orange book out of his pocket.

"Maa, only Kakashi's fine."

"Kakashi-san, then," Ashura said, then inclined his head. "And ... Kakashi-san. It is still not too late for you too. "

Kakashi blinked and looked at Ashura, but the boy had already left, running.

The adult sighed, watching the place where Ashura had disappeared. _Is not it too late for me? Everyone is already dead. **It's** too late._

But he let himself smile.

Ashura was a good boy.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


The next morning, Ashura sat down to the swing again. Waiting for the figure of blond hair. He knew for a fact that Naruto always came in the park for most of the day because he had nothing else to do. However, time passed, and when Ashura noticed, it was already noon, and no sign of Naruto.

He frowned at it, and got up the balance sheet, deciding to search for the child. Focusing on the signatures of chakra, Ashura tried to look for Naruto's, which was so familiar to him. Unfortunately, Ashura was not able to feel anyone's chakra signature more than a hundred meters from him consciously yet. _I should train this._

He sighed and started walking, planning to look for the boy all over the village with his sensor skill. The first place he went, however, was to Ichiraku, since it was noon. Maybe the boy had stopped for lunch? Naruto was not there, and that made Ashura anxious. He looked around and kept walking.

 _Something happened? Should happen? I do not remember!_ But it was a long time ago. Ashura did not remember many parts of his childhood, suppressed by between slightly better memories of his days as a teenager.

A sudden chakra peak made Ashura stop. His breath stopped in his throat and the boy started to run. _Naruto. Chakra. Fear. I need to get there soon..!_ It seemed that his brain had shut down, and he let his body move on its own. He stepped up with his chakra on his legs and climbed up the wall of one of the houses until he reached the other side. _He's in the Akasen*.._. The Uzumaki quickened his pace. Naruto's chakra was moving, probably running away.

_Protect, protect, protect..._

He walked around a building, past a house, stopping when he felt Naruto's chakra right behind him.

_Protect... Kit..._

Ashura could not say that he was fully conscious. He only knew that there was this need to protect Naruto that was abnormal, bizarre, and so strong that he could hardly breathe.

He looked ahead, and three of the village civilians. They smelled like alcohol, their eyes were red, probably under some kind of drug. He could feel Naruto behind him, hear his fast breathing, and from his peripheral vision, he noticed they were in an alley. All this happened in a second, it was so much information that almost gave Ashura a headache.

"What's going on here?" Ashura asked. His voice was strong, hard, angry. "Three adults, chasing a helpless child... Th **at's** n **ot v** e **ry _nice_."**

\-----------------------------------------  


Naruto was shaking, looking at the boy who had just intercepted his pursuers. He remembered that hair on the playground. The boy from the swing. He was... scary. And really cool at the same time. Something was familiar about him, but he could not understand what.

He looked furious as he spoke, his hair creeping a little, his posture lowering, bent, more _feral_ , and he could almost see a purple energy around him, weak.

" Helpless? This monster is not helpless, that's why we need to kill him before he can become a shinobi! "One of the villagers said, pointing accusingly at Naruto, who flinched.

That was why he had started to chase after him, Naruto remembered. He had exclaimed that he would become a ninja, and that everyone would recognize him. And they had been angry, even angry. It was scary. Naruto knew no one wanted him around, just Grandpa Hokage, but that was... Worse than anything that had ever happened.

But now, the redheaded boy was in front of him, protectively.

 **"Monster?"** The redheaded boy laughed, looking up at the sky. **. "Naruto? Naruto is not a monster... "**

It all happened so fast. In a second, he was laughing, and the next, the man in the middle had been thrown away, with a punch in the middle of the nose, and the redhead was behind the others. His eyes, once blue, were now scary violet.

**"But I can be."**

 

****

_"Let's Be A Monster"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, about the draw, i know that Ashura's hair is different, more spiky. It happens just when he is really angry, a little like Kushina's hair did when she was mad. ^^
> 
> Thaaanks for reading!  
> Love yall!
> 
> *akasen - Red-light district. It's a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters are found. (Wikipedia)


	6. Not A Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura talks to Naruto, Kurama, and returns to the place he most hated on earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi people! Coming back from my vacation/writer block/I got a new game, and it distracted me with a new chapter! I had some problems writing this chapter, so maybe it's not so good ;-; But the next one will be better, I promise.

**"Not A Human"**

\-------------------------------------  
 **Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
 _Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

 

Danzou watched his ninja giving his report, but his head was barely focused on what the man was saying. _A new kekkei genkai?_ It was a possibility. Part of him eagerly wanted to bring this boy to Root. _He may be strong enough to be an asset to the village._

Danzou hated how Hiruzen would not make the right use of this new pawn on their board.

"Continue to observe Uzumaki Ashura, and report any apparitions of this possible Kekkei Genkai." Danzou ordered. "Dismissed."

And the Anbu disappeared. Danzou sighed to himself. So close to my plans. I need to make sure this kid does not give me any trouble.

Uzumakis always had the habit of getting involved in what had not to do with them.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Ashura sighed to himself as the strange chakra disappeared from his chakra net as he saw the men running away, carrying the injured friend. _Oh shit, this can be bad for me..._

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked, turning to Naruto. Watching him, he looked fine. A little dirty to run away for sure, but there were no visible bruises. He seemed to tremble, too, so Ashura approached slowly. "Hey, do not worry, they will not come back any more. You're safe. "The redhead said softly, trying to calm the blond jinchuuriki.

"THAT WAS SO COOL!"

_Uh?_

“You were like _zuuum_ , fast here, then _bam_! On the nose of the guy, and he flew off! "Explained the six-year-old boy, speaking quickly, clearly very excited. Ashura could almost feel a bead of sweat running down his forehead. _Of course he is not scared... He is me._

“Hah... Hahahah...” Ashura could not stop himself from laughing. "You're weird, kid." It was. It was so strange for Ashura to see that face. It was like looking in a mirror, except he did not look like that any more.

Naruto seemed to frown before and shrug, opening a bright smile, when he decided that Ashura was not wanting to offend him.

"Thank you for helping me, dattebayo!" The boy exclaimed cheerfully.

"You're welcome." Ashura laughed, and scratched behind his head, embarrassed. It was strange to receive a self-giving thanks. "Oh." He blinked. "I was going to have lunch. You want to go with me? Just in case any of those assholes show up again. "

"Lunch?" Naruto blinked, and his stomach growled. He laughed, which decidedly looked a bit like a fox's, smiling. "Of course, dattebayo!"

Ashura laughed, and inclined his head.

"By the way, what's your name?" Ashura asked.

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto exclaimed. "Remember that name, because one day I'll be the Hokage, dattebayo!"

Ashura made a surprised face and then smiled.

"Heh, curious," the boy said cheerfully. "My name is Ashura."

He saved the surname for himself, however, deciding it would be too much for Naruto at this point.

"Tell me, Naruto-kun," Ashura commented. "Do you know any good places to eat around here?"

The little boy's eyes seemed almost to shine with that question.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Ashura was more surprised than he should have when Naruto took him to Ichiraku for lunch. Not that he would complain, he had not been at his favorite restaurant for months. He was avoiding eating only ramen at the beginning of this life, to try to grow a few inches taller than the last time.

"This place has the best ramen in the world, nii-chan!" Naruto was exclaiming as they sat down.

"Oh, Naruto-kun! The usual, I presume? "Teuchi, the head chef and honorary uncle of the blond boy asked, before stopping, looking at Ashura. He frowned, tilting his head. "I know you? You look familiar."

Ashura blinked, surprised at the question.

"Perhaps you have already seen me in the village? I arrived here a short time ago. "The time traveler replied.

Teuchi shrugged away the face of mind bright red haired woman the boy reminded him.

"Ne, ne, Oji-san!" Naruto called excitedly. "This is Ashura-nii-chan! He helped me! He's like, a strong suuuuper ninja!"

Ashura scratched behind his head, half embarrassed by the praise Naruto spoke, when Teuchi looked at him, interested.

"Ashura-kun, huh? Ninja at your age? You're young, "Teuchi commented.

"Uh, no, no!" He shook his head. "I'm not officially a ninja yet, I'm in the Academy, yet..."

"Ehhh!" Naruto interrupted, his eyes wide. "But the first time I saw you, you had one of those ninjas cloth guards!"

"Hitai-ate," Ashura corrected, his voice a little soft. "That was ... It's hitai-up to my home village." _From my clan, at least_. "They were destroyed, the ... a long time." Ashura laughed, scratching behind her nervous head because of the heavy weather the conversation had taken. "Well! We came here to eat, right? Not to speak of the dead. Oji-san! Gimme a miso ramen, please! "

"A miso coming!"

Naruto, who had been a little quiet after the Ashura’s explanation, began to devour the ramen that had been placed in front of him. Ashura watched a little horrified. The boy seemed to _breathe_ the ramen. He did not look that way when he ate, did he?

**Yes, you do.**

_Oh, shut up._

"Here" Teuchi put the ramen in front of him, speaking a little lower. "On the house, for helping Naruto-kun." He looked so serious that Ashura was surprised. He did not know Teuchi understood what he had needed to 'help' Naruto.

"It's nothing." Ashura lowered his voice, separating the hashis. "I'll never let anyone hurt a child if I can stop it."

Teuchi looked pleased when he nodded, and returned to the stove. Ashura smiled, feeling a little warm inside, like a kind of strange happiness. Pride, maybe. He did not know very well.

He began to eat, more cheerful than he had been since he returned in time. There was a strange hope in his chest, noticing that he was making a difference in something this time.

"Ne, Nii-chan." Naruto called, pulling his shirt a little. "I'm going to start the ninja academy next week. Am I going to see you there? "Ashura blinked and nodded.

"Of course, Naruto-kun."

The boy's gaze was a little desperate, which scared the older Uzumaki.

"So... you're not going to disappear, right?" He murmured. He seemed ashamed to ask that.

 _Oh, that._ Ashura noticed. During their early childhood, it was common for people to stop talking to him after a day or two when their parents told them not to approach him because he was a jinchuuriki. It should be painful for Naruto.

He could not let the blond feel like that anymore.

"No of course not! In fact, I can even tell you where I live, if you need anything, "the redhead said, taking his hand to mess up the boy's hair. "And I can help you train, and study, and teach you the jutsu that I know. I will not leave you, squirt. Never, dattebasa! "

Naruto's smile was sweet. He looked happy. Part of Ashura wanted to take the boy to his house, to protect him from everything in the world. Kurama seemed to agree with this sentiment, but Ashura was sure that 'kidnapping' the jinchuuriki would not do well for the future. Kurama looked angry at this fact.

He could help the boy, already. It was enough, he hoped.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Ashura took a deep breath, lying down on his bed. All the events of the day fell under him like a heavy stone, and he was astonished. At the moment, he did not have much time to think about it, so he had pushed it into the back of his mind, in favor of taking care of Naruto.

_Kurama... What wa ... That ...? That outbreak, chakra... That was not normal._

Kurama was silent before letting out a heavy sigh **. I hoped it would not happen so soon, actually...** The giant fox admitted.

 _Did you know it was going to happen ?!_ Ashura almost screamed in thought. _Why did not you warn me?!_

 **It's not that easy, kit.** Kurama defended himself. **I... I did it to save you.**

The redhead was silent at that, and sighed quietly, before closing his eyes and allowing himself to be dragged into a mental landscape.

"Ku ..." Ashura called out. The water in his mental 'sewer' was red, and thick, when his ankles touched it. "Ku, speak to me," the Jinchuuriki asked, approaching.

There was no more cage for Kurama, this had been a change from when they went back in time. The giant fox was free to come and go, without a seal on that body to stop it.

Now, Kurama was lying under what appeared to be a bijuu-sized dog bed, large and soft. His ears moved uncomfortably as he stared at the opposite side of Ashura. There was a decidedly guilty gleam in the fox's eyes.

"Ku... hey..." Ashura called, climbing onto the bed with difficulty, and touching the fox's face. "I get it, okay? You did what you did to protect me. You always protect me. "The redhead smiled faintly. "I will not get mad. Promise. And you know I do not break my promises, it's my ninja way, dattebasa! "

The familiar smile appeared on his face, half broken, flawed, after so much suffering. But Kurama can not help but feel some affection for it. The bijuu sighed, slightly.

 **"When I rebuilt your body"** The fox began. **"I used my chakra to create the physical, along with the nature chakra that was around us."**

Ashura nodded. He knew that, Kurama had already said.

 **"Your chakra is formed by your physical energy, my energy, and your spiritual energy, your energy,"** Kurama explained patiently **. "So our chakra merged, and created that purple energy, which is your chakra now."**

"Yes." Ashura nodded. "I got this. It is purple. My chakra was blue, yours was red, and that one is purple. "

A drop trickled down Kurama's forehead with that reasoning. That was not how the chakra worked, but he would not explain it to Ashura now. ( _Purple was the color associated with depression, used to represent death..._ )

 **"Yes,"** Kurama agreed. **"Well, since my chakra is now your body, you... Maybe... End up feeling... My emotions?"** He looked expectantly at the mini-jinchuukiri.

"Your... Emotions?" Ashura asked, dazed.

 **"Well, yeah, that's the beginning... This body is not 100% human, so more things can start to happen, too. I'm not sure. No one has ever done this before,"** The bijuu admitted.

Ashura seemed torn between confused, horrified, and touched.

"Wow," he finally said. "Uh. I did not know you felt ... So ... That way ... For me. "Ashura joked, just to break the strange mood that had been between them.

Kurama kicked him out of the mental landscape with a growl. Clearly, the fox was a tsundere most of the time.

The redhead smiled fondly, letting out a low sigh as he opened his eyes to the real world.

_That can give me problems... But I will not stress now._ _Do not worry, Kurama._

The light growl was the only answer, and Ashura laughed. Apparently he had hurt Kurama's terrible monster ego.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


Ashura sighed, looking at the clock on his bedside table. It was the first day of the academy, and he felt nervous. Not unlike his first life, the boy was accustomed to isolating himself, especially during his childhood. The hyperactive facade had been more like a shield, and after a while, he just could not take it anymore.

He did not want to do it this time.

Kurama had given him the opportunity to redo everything, and he wanted to do it right. With a faint lip-toothed smile, the redheaded boy closed the hitai-ate in the drawer beside the bed. The memory of his ancestry was like a shield, too.

He did not need that shield now.

With his shoulders raised, the boy left the house, ignoring the nervousness that being around a massive amount of chakra signatures caused. The practice of the past few weeks was helping to solve this problem.

It was only seven in the morning. Ashura would like to talk to Naruto before class, but unfortunately, the first year room only had class from eight, different from the rooms from the fifth to the seventh year. He sighed, slightly annoyed at this, but he tightened the strap of his pack on his back, breathing slowly once more.

 **For Sage’s sake, just enter at once. A bunch of ten-year-old kids will not kill you.** Kurama exclaimed annoyed.

Ashura blushed slightly and nodded.

The path to the teachers' room was familiar under his feet, but he made sure to move across the boards as if looking for the path. You never know when the Hokage would be watching on his stupid crystal ball, after all. (But, perverted as the old man was, he'd probably be doing, ahem, other things.)

"Uzumaki Ashura-kun, huh?" The Chunnin sensei said.

"Yes, Daikoku-sensei," the boy said, trying to sound as serious as possible. That was for two reasons. One, he was no longer a child, and could remain serious under certain circumstances ... And two: The more distance he created between his personality and Naruto's, the better.

"Good, good." The fat chunnin smiled, looked honestly cheerful. Daikoku was happy to have one more student in his room, maybe he could find another genius like Uchiha Itachi.

_And here it starts, huh?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, no drawing today. My grandfather put my drawing tablet somewhere, and I could not find it yet. ; I'll look for more after posting this chapter, and I intend to have a drawing in the next chapter. Sorry.


	7. Bad Teacher

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashura hates his new sensei, and Naruto need help in school!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya, folks! How are you today? :D I'm here with a brand new chapter that i just finished! AND a new drawing!
> 
> Also, thankyou so much! We already have more than 300 kudos, 150 comments and more than 3000 hits! Thats SO AWESOME! I just dont know how to thank you enough!

**"Bad Teacher"**

\-------------------------------------  
**Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
_Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

Ashura watched the other students in the room with curiosity. He did not recognize anyone (even because everyone would probably have changed since he'd seen them when he was alive), but he could see an Inuzuka girl in the room, a Hyuuga boy, and a child who looked decidedly Akimichi, if his size was something to be take into account.

Somehow, not knowing anyone in the room left Ashura more relaxed. The idea of studying with his old colleagues was agonizing. Although they were his friends, they were _too_ different in this timeline.

"Well, students. I know we're in the middle of the year, but we're going to have a new student with us. "Daikoku-sensei said, his hand on Ashura's shoulder. The boy had to control all his instincts against touch. Kurama growled in the back of his mind. _Do not touch, do not touch me, do not touch..._ "Introduce yourself."

With an impassive face, Ashura nodded.

"My name is Uzumaki Ashura," he said, voice controlled, with only a slight hint of tension in the background. He smiled slightly at the students. "I hope we can count on each other in those years that will pass."

Ashura did not pay attention, because of his tension, but a couple of girls began to whisper about him, about his appearance. Kurama found it amusing. Apparently, Ashura was too handsome for his own health.

Daikoku finally took his hand from Ashura's shoulder and the boy relaxed visibly. "Sit down next to Hana, right? Hana, raise a hand for him to know where to go." The girl Inuzuka obeyed. Ashura watched interested _. Inuzuka Hana? Is not that Kiba sister's name_? And he went to sit beside her, the vacant place at the window.

He was confused when some people stared at him in surprise, as if something unusual, but he ignored it.

"Good morning," he murmured to Hana at his side. Hana watched him, and nodded. Ashura found it interesting that she had three dogs with her, one on her head and two inside her coat. The puppies were twins? It was rare for an Inuzuka to receive more than a ninken. That should mean she was very strong.

_That's good._

Daikoku was quick to start class... that easily became boring for Ashura. The boy felt the clear difference in his concentration from when he was Naruto, because of the lack of ADHD, but still. _It was very annoying_. It was history class, about the Second Great Ninja War.

It took a few minutes to Ashura note that Uzushio destruction was not even mentioned. It was as if Konoha completely ignored the existence of his clan. _Well, it's a shame for them, after all..._

In a way, it was kind of painful.

**You can always ask about it to the old man.**

_Thinking rationally,_ Ashura said, _he probably took out this part of the curriculum because it is a delicate matter._

It did not soothe the painful feeling that his village was being forgotten, but Ashura did not want to bother the old man. Especially not now that they were not even close.

**You will never be close to people again if you do not approach them, nor let them approach you, kit.**

The redhead ignored him, struggling to pay attention in class.

Things then started to get messed up in the second class, which was Field Tactics. Daikoku was explaining the uses of Academy's basic jutsus in the field. Then, randomly, he would ask Ashura a question.

"Uzumaki-kun, can you name three uses for the henge in the field?"

"Uh, espionage, deception and uh ... When are you with few weapons?" Ashura replied, somewhat hesitantly.

Daikoku nodded at that, and continued the lesson, just to send another question to Ashura, right after. ( _Which jutsu do you think should be used in the situation I just described?_ ) And that pattern continued for about an hour.

"Daikoku-sensei is testing the new kid already?" Someone asked in the background, quietly. Ashura could barely hear.

"Yes... I think he's desperate to find another student like Itachi-kun..."

The redhead blinked. Was this Itachi's former teacher? It made sense, since the academy worked with a rotation system. You would have a class with the same teacher throughout the Academy. That made him distracted for a minute, looking at his watch. It was already class time for Naruto. He was probably having his first meeting with the students in the class now... Ashura hoped it would be okay, but he would ask in the lunch.

The questions were getting more and more difficult, but Ashura refused to stop answering them all with all the knowledge he had. Well. If the man wanted a genius, he would have one. Ashura hated the idea that he would probably do this with all the new students, just to know about them. That should ruin their first day in class

Ashura would do everything she could to prevent this from happening to other children. Even if it meant that he would be the teacher's target for the rest of the year.

"Some people say it's the wire strings," he replied when the man asked what the most versatile ninja tool. "Because of the amount of things you can do with one. But I think the most versatile tool are the seals. They are not easy, but if you really strive to learn and practice, your imagination is the limit to what they can do. "

Daikoku looked pleased as he nodded.

"Very good. Very good indeed, Uzumaki-kun. "He smiled, but Ashura only felt anger for him, even though the chunnin tried to look cool. "I was afraid you'd be useless like the other Uzumaki boy in the village..."

Ashura stared at the chunnin.

_Oh, you did not say that..._

**Let me eat him. Or rather, we can take the guts out of him and give food to the _frogs_.**

The redhead nodded, feeling the intention of killing him out, focused on the chunnin, in waves. He smiled, softly at the man, but knew that his eyes were a scary purple.

"I'd appreciate it if you did not talk about _Ouji-kun_ like that." He emphasized the word 'prince.' "Uzushio may have been destroyed. My clan may have been massacred. But Naruto is a direct descendant of the main family. He is the prince of my village. You should learn to have more respect."

Daikoku was shaking a little, paralyzed with the killing intention leaking from the academy student. The children could not notice, but he could see the purple chakra covering the room. The other students could not feel anything, so Daikoku knew that Ashura was completely in control of his actions.

But the boy was _scary_.

"A-ah, yes ... Y-yes, sorry." He nodded, subdued. It was almost like a survival instinct now. The intent to kill backed away, and the chunnin could breathe.

The room was in a uncomfortable silence for a few seconds before someone raised his hand. It was the Hyuuga boy.

"A-ah, yes, Takuma-kun?" Daikoku turned his attention to him, still very nervous.

"What is Uzushio?"

Ashura shrugged his shoulders at that. Oh, shit. He should have thought before he spoke about Uzushio in class. If the reason the subject was ignored at the Academy was important, he could have screwed it up by accident.

"Ah, Uzushiogakure in Satö, it was one of the strongest Shinobi villages before the second ninja war," Chunnin explained. "They were incredibly good with seals, most of the seals we have in Konoha came from there because the main family was married to the Senju during the time of the first Hokage ..." He scratched behind his head. "They were destroyed by Iwa and Kiri during the Second Ninja War. Though they were strong, they were still few. "

"That's awful!" A civilian girl said, looking shocked. "Why Konoha did not help them?"

"The letters the Uzukage sent were intercepted," Ashura replied quickly. "Konoha only learned afterwards that it was over. Konoha and Uzushio were a very strong alliance, so the standard chunnin and jounnin jackets have the Uzushio symbol behind... it is the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. The red spiral. "

The students seemed very interested in this. The strangeness of Ashura's discussion with the teacher was quickly forgotten.

The redhead laid his head on the table, breathing deeply a few times, trying to calm the overly defensive sensation he was feeling. _That was a bit exaggerated_.

**Well, you have my feelings. Your negative feelings are naturally exaggerated because of it.**

Ashura had to stop himself from whining annoyed by it _. This is going to give me so much trouble, Ku._

Kurama laughed at the suffering of his Jinchuuriki, just before the recess bell rang. The raucous noise made Ashura's ears ache, but he ignored it in favor of collecting his things to get out of there. _Uh. I forgot to make my lunch,_ the redhead realized.

**Oh yeah. You were too busy being afraid of 10-years-old kids to remember that you should to cook your lunch.**

_Oh, shut up. You did not remember either._

**Details.**

Ashura sighed silently.

"It's all right? You look depressed, Ashura-kun. "The redhead blinked and looked up, seeing Hana watching him curiously.

"Uh? Yes it is. I just forgot to bring lunch. But I can go eat in the village, no problem. "He scratched behind his head, embarrassed, and slightly touched she had asked. It felt strange to have someone caring for him. During his early childhood, no one would ask him that. And after he grew up and made friends, he was simply too strong for anyone to care.

Hana blinked and nodded. "You have a girl's voice," she noted, and Ashura felt a drop of sweat trickle down his forehead. _I do not have the voice girl’s voice..._ "Oh, do not eat too much, Ashura-kun. In the afternoon we have taijutsu. "

"Oh, yes, thank you." The boy sighed, deciding to ignore the comment about his voice. _(He had no girl's voice! And he was not bothered about it!)_

 

\-----------------------------------------

Naruto was sitting on a swing in the Academy's courtyard, staring up at the sky absently. Ashura-nii-chan had said he would meet him at the Academy, but he had not seen the older boy yet. He was starting to get worried, with a slight paranoia that maybe Ashura had abandoned him, but this was quickly taken out of his head when he noticed a reddish hair coming towards him. _(Thinking about it, the red color was so cool...)_

"Naruto-kun! Hi, sorry. The teacher was slow to release my class, "Ashura said quickly as he approached. He had that gentle smile that always made Naruto feel warm and happy inside. The blonde smiled brightly at him.

"No problem, nii-chan!" Naruto said excitedly. "You know, you know! My class was _very boring_ , dattebayo! The teacher made us sit down and read text! And I'm bad at it, it was boring, boring, very boring! "He complained, watching intently the expression of Ashura.

He was still looking for signs of the anger he saw in everyone in Ashura. He could not find anything but the expression of light amusement that appeared on the older boy's face. He did not laugh (this was a sound that Naruto had never heard of leaving Ashura before), but he seemed happy.

"Ah yes. Classes can be that way, I guess. But it's good that you pay attention and strive to keep up,"Ashura said, with an amused smile.

"But I can not concentrate! I always end up looking out the window, and doing anything other than the subject of class! And Iruka-sensei got really mad at me because of that..." Naruto explained, frowning at himself. Ashura froze strangely, being silent for a couple of seconds (he did this sometimes...) before sighing and nodding.

"Naruto-kun." Ashura bowed slightly so they were about the same height. "If it's hard to focus, you need to find ways to fight that distraction. You said you're looking out the window, right? So sit away from the window. You're stubborn, persistent. Do not let this distraction win!" He bit his lip. "But if you want, I can talk to your teacher about your concentration problems. Maybe he can do something to help you. It's his job, after all."

Naruto blinked. There was a slight pain in his chest when Ashura said it, but it was a good kind of pain.

"Would you do that for me?" Naruto was not a fool. He could see how difficult it was for Ashura to talk to people. The redhead sometimes would rather go around the village to buy something than talk to a specific person. Ashura smiled and messed Naruto's blond hair.

"Of course, squirt." He smiled. "Well. If anything, we can always ask the teacher what he will teach the next day. If you do, I can try to teach you, on my way before class. If you know what he's talking before he spoke, will show everyone how you're amazing. "

Naruto seemed to like the idea, Ashura always seemed to know how to explain things in a way that Naruto understood. He nodded cheerfully. "I will ask for Iruka-sensei!" Ashura had to hold him by the shirt to keep him from rushing out looking for Iruka.

"Not now, Naruto-kun!" Ashura shook his head, amused. "It's time for lunch, remember? Let's go on the Yakiniku. "

"Eeeeh! But I want ramen! "

"You will never grow up if you eat only ramen, Naruto-kun."

Naruto chuckled. He did not care about the problems that were happening around him, with the villagers, with the looks, and with his learning problems. He would never let these things upset him as long as he had his nii-chan with him.

(And Ashura? Ashura would never let Naruto suffer for his ADHD, just because a couple of stupid adults did not pay attention when he needed it.)

 

_"Too Small"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone asked the main pairing of the fanfic, its Ashura x Kakashi, as you can see in the drawing! :D Hope you like it! 
> 
> THANKS FOR READING~!


	8. Hot-Headed Idiot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of things happen. Ashura gets in a fight or two. Naruto is too cute and short-tempered for his on good, and somene is lurking in the shadows, being an asshole.
> 
> Nothing out of common here

**"Hot-Headed Idiot"**

\-------------------------------------  
**Hahahaha!!!**  = Kurama is speaking  
_Oh, damn boy_  = Someone is thinking  
"I'm saying something" = Someone is speaking

\-------------------------------------

 

Daikoku eagerly watched his students do their warm-ups, before the Taijutsu class. His eyes automatically went to the red-haired boy; his new student. The event in the classroom had just cemented in his mind as he could be the genius Daikoku was looking for. His career as a ninja was over already. Trapped in teaching children, Daikoku knew that fame in his name would come exclusively from what his students could accomplish outside the academy.

That's why Uzumaki-kun was so important to him.

He watched Uzumaki do the exercises, calculatingly. The boy seemed to have no problems in the warm-ups, quite flexible. For someone who had never had formal education, Ashura seemed to be very good. _This is what growing up with the tension of being dead at any moment can do with a person..._ Daikoku could not stop thinking.

The chunnin still remembered the report the Hokage had given him _. Uzumaki Ashura. Uzushio. Ten years old. Exhibits antisocial behavior, possibly PTSD. Victim of torture by an unknown assailant. Doubtful loyalty. Known skills are: Sensor, high chakra capacity, medium-high knowledge of Fuinjutsu, reasonable chakra control._

And then, there was the disturbing part, in a remark written quickly at the end, in part for things added after the first evaluation.

_Aggressive behavior caused by a corrosive chakra when he feels extreme anger. Main triggers for this anger are still unknown._

Daikoku would give his report about the boy after school ended. One of the triggers was most likely the other Uzumaki kid, Naruto. The Kyuubi boy. Ashura seemed to be extremely protective of Naruto. _Probably because he's his only family_ , Daikoku guessed.

He pushed the thoughts out of his head, focusing on the lesson he needed to give. He clapped his hands to draw the children's attention.

"Very well, very well, folks." He called, and the students stopped what they were doing, and arranged, to look at him. Ashura shifted from one foot to the other, but otherwise his face was completely blank. _Something happened_ , Daikoku noticed, but ignored, for now. "Because today is the first day of school after the holidays, we're going to do spars." That seemed to make the kids excited because they started talking to each other. "I'm going to call two names, so you're going to come here in the middle, and fight. Just taijutsu. Understood?"

"Hai, sensei!" The students said in chorus.

"Good. First, Tamai Ryu versus Akuro Shin. "He called, watching the names on his clipboard.

And so began the fights. Most of them were bad, these students simply had no talent. The students cheered for their friends, cheerfully, and Daikoku took notes of the mistakes they made to put in their reports. He was not very interested in those fights, only the one he had held to be the last.

"Next fight! Akimichi Choguro versus Uzumaki Ashura! "Daikoku announced. Choguro was his current strongest student. The boy was a monster as to his strength, and he had learned very well to retain energy, using shorter, faster movements. He would never be the fastest, but could cause huge damage with his strength.

Ashura's eyes rushed to the boy, who was exclaiming cheerfully about his victory. He ran a hand through his red hair, shivering slightly, a behavior that seemed a little anxious, before approaching the center, where Choguro waited, patiently.

"Do not feel too bad when I clean the floor with you, new kid!" Choguro exclaimed confidently.

Ashura's mouth twitched a little before he settled into a gentle smile. The behavior change was extremely abrupt. Even Ashura's breathing seemed more relaxed, Daikoku watched interested.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


"I will not," Ashura promised, leaning slightly. Choguro seemed to be overconfident, very different from Chouji, his friend. _Sorry, Choguro, but I'm going to have to knock you off your horse._

Ashura was not stupid. He noticed that Choguro only acted like this because he was Daikoku's favorite. (He noticed how Daikoku tended to treat Choguro better than the rest of the students.) He probably believed he was extremely strong, and the redhead could already notice how bad it was doing.

Choguro's position was too relaxed, his clothes had obviously been made to be cool, not good for a fight. The redhead knew that if he did not humble Choguro a little now, the boy probably would not survive after becoming a gennin.

He shoved the feeling of regret into the back of his mind, putting his hand on the confronting seal, as was demanded in the traditional shinobi disputes. Choguro did the same, smiling confidently.

"Start!"

Ashura stood, waiting, then Choguro decided to attack first, with a punch, aiming at Ashura's head. The younger boy smiled at that, leaning sideways, swiftly deflecting the punch. He took a step forward, and thrust his leg against Choguro's ankles, effectively knocking him down.

"If you do not pay attention, you'll lose your balance very easily," Ashura told him. "You're big, and heavy. Your balance is bad. Keep attention. "

Choguro looked angry as he stood up, banging his clothes to take the dust off the floor. "You'll pay for it." Her face was red with embarrassment. Clearly, he was not used to being overthrown.

Ashura smiled at those words. "Oh? You talk a lot, to someone who can not pin a blow on me." He knew he was being completely annoying to Choguro. But it was better that way.

_Neither of them needs to get too close to me._

**Ah, there you go with your edgy drama again.**

_Ahhh, shut upppp!!!_

Choguro seemed really angry about the whole situation. He threw himself at Ashura with punches that obviously contained all the strength of the boy, aiming mainly at Ashura's head. One of these probably would not be very nice to take... If Choguro could hit him. Uzumaki put his hands in his pocket, turning away from all the punches, as if it were nothing.

And it was not for him at least.

"Slow," Ashura commented. "Have you thought about training this?"

"Shut up!" Choguro shouted, angry. "Shut up and stand still so I can hit you!"

Ashura laughed softly at that. _This is kind of unfair. Fighting children like that, I mean_. But he could not feel bad about it. After all, for the first time in his life, Ashura was the one the other students were casting admiring looks on.

**Get it over with, kit.** Kurama yawned. 

_As you wish._

Ashura stopped abruptly from moving, receiving one of Choguro's punches on his shoulder. It did not hurt much. The redhead smiled at that, taking advantage of the shock of the largest boy, who seemed surprised to have hit him and grabbed his arm. Turning his body, with his feet flat on the ground, Ashura pulled him with all his might under his body and threw him to the other side. The Akimichi hit the ground hard.

"The victory is from Uzumaki Ashura!" Daikoku announced. Choguro stood up, looking completely humiliated, and Ashua gave him a kind smile.

"Sorry about that," Ashura said, reaching for the reconciliation seal.

"No..." Choguro sighed, letting his shoulders fall before accepting reconciliation. "I was counting ahead before I started the fight and let it go. You were much better than me."

Ashura blinked at this admission, and scratched behind his head, a half-trembling laugh running past his lips.

"Erm, thank you."

He could hear some people talking in the background.

"Did you see that? Ashura-kun is so strong!"

"And nice, did you see?"

"And he's very handsome, too! That red hair..."

_Oh... Shit._

**You've created monsters kit.**

for the teacher to finish the lecture and release the students at the end of class. He tried to ignore the conversations around him, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

 _Was that how Sasuke felt?_ He shivered, feeling the eyes of all the girls in the room on his back. _This is horrible._

**They want to copulate with you now.**

_WHAT? KURAMA! Ugh! No! They are ten years old! They do not want to... Copulate!_ His face was almost as red as his hair.

**Or eat you, maybe. One of the two.**

_Ugh, your are the worst!_

He ignored the fox's laughter in his mind, paying enough attention in class to notice that Daikoku was freeing the students to leave.

"Ah, Ashura-kun." Daikoku called to him. He stopped, and looked at the chunnin, seeming tense. "Come with me. We need to talk to the Hokage. "

Ashura took a deep breath, and relaxed his shoulders.

"OK."

 

\-----------------------------------------  


"That's how it happened." Daikoku finished explaining the events in the room. Ashura tried not to look surprised when the chunnin decided to hide the part about the KI that he had sent. "And that made me think, Hokage-sama. We ignore Uzushio in the curriculum of the academy. I do not think we should do it anymore, it's important for students to know about the lives that have been lost, to take their ninja career more seriously. "

"Did we ignore it?" Ashura blinked at the Hokage's question. Hiruzen Sarutobi looked shocked. Daikoku looked at him in confusion.

"Yes, it's been six years since we took Uzushio out of the curriculum, sir." Daikoku replied.

The Third's eyes were cold as steel.

"Ah... I understand. It seems... Someone has been doing things without my permission again. "The voice of the Hokage was a cheerful tone, like a concerned grandfather, which seemed even more frightening in this situation.

That's when Ashura noticed _. If it was not Grandpa Hokage who took it from the curriculum…_

**Danzou.**

Ashura's eyes darkened, and he took a deep breath to contain the anger he was feeling from the counselor. _How dare he..._

"Ah, Ashura-kun." The Hokage turned to him. "How did you realize that Naruto-kun was from the main family of Uzushio?" The Hokage's tone was still skittish, but Ashura knew he was at stake here. He could feel the Anbus chakra hidden in the room.

"Uh." Ashura blinked, making an expression of pure innocence.

 **We are Kitsune. We are the deceit.** Kurama said.

"Well, Kushina-sama was the Hime-sama of Uzushio," he said slowly. "And all the Uzumakis knew that she came to Konoha to fulfill the role of the main family as jinchuuriki." Ashura decided not to hide her knowledge. "Naruto-kun is a Uzumaki, I can feel it in his chakra, and he could only be her son, after all, she was the only Uzumaki around here." He shrugged. "It was not difficult to put two and two together, dattebasa!"

The answer seemed to satisfy the Third. He nodded.

"I understand. And it seems like you're aware of Naruto-kun's condition. "Ashura nodded.

"B-but I will not tell anyone, dattebasa!" He said hurriedly, feigning anxiety. "I-I mean, it seems to be a stealthy... matter." Ashura winced a little, putting all the fear he could into his face. "You're not going to kill me for knowing, right?"

"Oh, of course not, my boy." Bingo. The Hokage seemed to have fallen into his acting. "Just remember not to tell anyone, it's forbidden to talk about it in Konoha."

Ashura nodded anxiously.

"And... Hokage-sama, with all due respect," the redhead began, biting his lips. "Naruto-kun is living in a really bad situation, dattebasa. I wish I could live with him. He... needs help, Hokage-sama. "

"That's out of the question," the Hokage said, a bit colder. "You're still a child, Ashura-kun, I can not let you take care of another child."

"But… And when do I become a gennin?" He asked. "I'm going to be legally adult, and I'll be able to earn money to keep us both, please, Hokage-sama!"

Hiruzen watched the red-headed boy, calculating. He looked for signs that the boy was lying, that he was trying to use Naruto, but found none. Ashura looked honest, worried about his family. The Third could understand that.

"When you become gennin." Hiruzen accepted. "When you become gennin, I will allow you to be responsible for Naruto.

Ashura smiled at that, visibly relaxing.

"But," Hiruzen said. "You must hide your Naruto surname at all costs. If you tell him, I'll take that you're trying to rush things, and that's an act of betrayal. "

Ashura straightened his back, seriously, and nodded.

"Right, Hokage-sama."

"Dismissed."

The Uzumaki left the room, with a mixture of pain and happiness in his chest.

_He's going to let me take care of Naruto-kun, Ku!_

The purring of approval was the only answer Ashura received, but he did not need more than that.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


"Wh-What happened?" Ashura asked. He had rushed out of the Hokage tower to find Naruto at the Academy at the end of class, and when he had arrived, Naruto did not look good.

Naruto had a bruised jaw, dirty clothes, and a swollen eye. It looked bad.

"I got into a fight, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed furiously. "Keichi-teme said that I was stupid because I could not read! Then, then! So I said he was stupid, because he looked stupid, and he hit me. And I hit him too! "He seemed honestly angry with the situation.

"Ah." Ashura blinked, he remembered Keichi from his academy time. The boy did not have the strength to become a ninja, he had given up before the end of the first semester. "Fighting is not good, Naruto-kun. But if anybody fights with you, fight back. You should not let people push you around. I'm proud that you defended yourself. "The redhead messed Naruto's blond hair, which smiled proudly and happily.

"Oh, I asked Iruka-sensei about what tomorrow's class would be, and he said we'd be studying shuriken throwing!" Naruto said excitedly.

Ashura's smile fell as Naurto spoke of Iruka.

 

\-----------------------------------------  


_"Hey, Iruka-sensei, right? Are you the Uzumaki Naruto teacher? "Ashura asked the adult, even knowing the answer. Umino Iruka looked at him seriously._

_"Ah yes. Why?"_

_"I just wanted to let you know, Naruto-kun has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He needs help to keep up with the other students ... "He began to explain, but stopped when Iruka's face became cold._

_"Nothing is an excuse for him not to strain, I will not give anyone special treatment. He needs to deal with his problems alone. "This felt like a punch in Ashua's stomach, and the redheaded boy took a deep breath, closing his eyes._

**_This is not your Iruka, remember. This Iruka still thinks it's Naruto's fault that his parents died._ **

_Ashura knew, but it still hurt._

_"Well, then you're a shitty teacher," Ashura said finally, letting a little rage drip from his words. "You are deliberately sabotaging a student after learning that he has a condition that he does not control. Naruto-kun has no control over all this. And you're... you're... "he growled, ignoring the surprised look Iruka was giving him. "Oh, damn it! I do not even know why I thought it would be any different. You all look at a six-year-old, and see what you want to see, because you’re all ignorant. Damn it all! "_

_And he disappeared with a shunshin before Iruka answered. He needed to fodus on the taijutsu class after lunch._

 

\-----------------------------------------  


"Shuriken throwing, huh?" He said, to disguise the pain that this confrontation was causing in his chest. "Good. Let's take care of these injuries, and I'll help you learn how to throw a shuriken properly. "He smiled gently at the blonde.

"Yatta! Thank you, Ashura-nii! You're the best, dattebayo! "Naruto exclaimed excitedly and Ashura laughed.

"No I'm not, you're the best." Ashura teased, messing Naruto's hair again.

_Well, we're the same person, so I guess we're the best, kiddo._

 

\-----------------------------------------  


_How did this happen?_ Ashura wondered, with a sigh, staring into the gennin's angry brown eyes in front of him. It had not happened in his timeline, not at all. Naruto was hiding behind him, looking honestly afraid. It hurt in Ashura that he felt that way, but part of him was relieved that the boy felt comfortable enough to demonstrate his real feelings now that he had someone to help him. He would never do that himself.

"I'll ask only once," Ashura warned, cold rage dripping from his words. He could already see the Academy students lurking in the fight about to begin. "What makes you think you could threaten Naruto-kun?"

"That brat hit my brother yesterday!" The brown-eyed boy snapped. "Right, Keichi?"

_Is this guy dumb?_

"Yes, Kaito-nii!" The little devil (aka Keichi) responded with a mock tone of sadness. Ashura struggled not to look at the younger, knowing that if he did, he would lose his temper.

_Keep calm and resolve this peacefully. He's a gennin. I can not stand showing my skills._

**You could let me talk to him.** Kurama suggested.

_This is the opposite of peacefully, Kurama._

"You're stupid," Ashura finally said, keeping the cool calmness in his voice. "Naruto-kun and Keichi got into a fight, that's true, but from what I see, Keichi is fine. Naruto-kun is still injured. Because of your little brother. If anyone should threaten a six-year-old here, it should be me, since **your** brother hurt Naruto-kun. "

Kaito growled, looking really angry at the idea of Ashura hurting Keichi.

"But I'm not a hot-headed idiot like you." Ashura ignored Kurama's laughter in his mind. "And I would not hurt a six-year-old, even your brother being a pest."

"I'm not a hot-headed idiot!" Kaito growled, angry. "And no matter who hurt the most, your brother hit mine first!"

Ashura was starting to get annoyed with the situation, too annoyed to notice that Kaito had said that he was Naruto's brother, even though it had never been said in the conversation.

"Is it? Then his brother is a pest and a _liar_. "Ashura sneered. "I'd like to see you try to hurt Naruto-kun. Just try, Kaito. If you, or anyone else try to hurt Naruto, I swear I'll clean the floor with you."

"You should not be so arrogant." Kaito smiled at the challenge. "You're just a cocky Academy student! It seems like I'll have to teach you your place!"

Ashura tried not to smile. Kaito had bitten his bait. _My bait?_ The thought stopped there and he stared wide-eyed. _Oh, shit._

**Typical Kitsune Behavior... Provocation.**

Lost in thought, Ashura paid no attention to Kaito, who had begun to make a couple of hand seals.

"Doton ..." Ashura heard.

_Oh, shit._

 

__

_**"Cold Asshole"** _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, guys! I stayed a long time without posting, then I owe an explanation for you: I'm currently living in a shelter for the homeless in my town. (For those who do not know, I'm Brazilian) I'm still homeless, and I'll stay like this until at least 16th. The stress just would not let me write, I would feel terrible when I sat down to write, because I should be doing something of useful life for, you know, make money to stay alive. I'm still in trouble, but I do not plan to abandon this story. Do not worry. The various comments I received over those stressful days really helped me a lot, thank you!
> 
> Thank you for not giving up on this story. I owe every ounce of motivation I have for you.


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